Afghanistan in turmoil

After Abdullah quits run-off:

AFGHANISTAN: Afghanistan was in political turmoil Monday after the sole challenger to President Hamid Karzai quit a second round election amid uncertainty over whether it will stage a one-man contest in five days’ time.

Two-and-a-half months after Afghans went to the polls to elect a president for the second time in history, Abdullah Abdullah announced Sunday he would not participate in the November 7 run-off, a move that should guarantee Karzai a second term in office but also threatens his legitimacy.

After Karzai snubbed a series of demands promoted by his rival as a chance to avoid a repeat of massive first-round fraud, Abdullah said he saw no point in standing, but stopped short of calling for a boycott.

The Independent Election Commission (IEC), whose leaders were appointed by Karzai, said the run-off would take place as scheduled on Saturday.

But Karzai opened the door to a possible solution in the courts and a UN spokesman conceded it was “difficult to see” how an election could take place with just one candidate, particularly with such a volatile security situation.

The commission is now expected to come under pressure to scrap the poll with the risk that turnout — which was as low as five percent in some areas in the first round — could sink to farcical levels.

“It’s difficult to see how you can have a run-off with only one candidate,” said Aleem Siddique, a spokesman for the United Nations mission in Kabul, which plays a major role in organising the ballot.

British Prime Minister Gordon Brown, who phoned Karzai after Abdullah’s announcement, indicated that he did not want the president to simply claim the spoils of victory.

Kabul, Monday, AFP